Yet Otani has again been bit by the injury bug. He skipped the World Baseball Classic due to an ankle injury, and will now miss an additional six weeks due to a strained thigh he suffered while legging out an infield single, according to the Associated Press:

TOKYO -- Japanese baseball player Shohei Otani will be sidelined for about six weeks because of a left-thigh muscle strain, his team said on Sunday.

Otani, who is expected to move to Major League Baseball in 2018, hurt his left leg trying to beat out an infield single in the Nippon Ham Fighters’ loss to the Orix BlueWave on Saturday.

Otani had thus far hit .407/.469/.815 in eight games, according to the Essence of Baseball. He had yet to pitch.

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R.J. Anderson joined CBS Sports in 2016. He previously wrote for Baseball Prospectus, where he contributed to five of the New York Times bestselling annuals. His work has also appeared in Newsweek and...
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